


Temple Family Matters

by Falt



Category: LA by Night, Vampire: The Masquerade
Genre: Dammit Mark, Family Drama, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-10-14 08:32:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17505188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Falt/pseuds/Falt
Summary: Based on Season 2, Episode 2: Eye for an Eye and the "intercepted message" from Mark posted to Twitter.





	Temple Family Matters

**Author's Note:**

> A Victor fic was long overdue (sorry, B. Dave) but school got in the way.  
> As always, thank you to the cast for bringing to life such amazing characters. It's been a privilege to watch.

It’s been a hard day, to say the least. Victor is tired, stressed, and starving. He’s relieved to finally eat and return to some semblance of normalcy as he sinks his fangs into the neck of the presented donor. He drinks deeply but does not kill—there’s been enough unnecessary bloodshed. Not that he thinks killing the sheriff was a mistake; indeed, it was a necessary evil. As much inconvenience as Annabelle has brought Victor, he’s glad she’s alright and is relieved that Jasper was there to help.

It’s as he pulls away from and wipes the memory of his meal that his phone buzzes to remind him of a missed call. His brow furrows as he unlocks the screen to see several missed calls and a text from Mark. He scans the text, a pit that can no longer be hunger growing in his stomach as he sees _OMW home, don’t like Vancouver anyway._

He should have thought of this when he pulled out the livestream in the first place. The idea that Mark would see it was the furthest thing from his mind. He wonders how it must have looked from the outside, especially for his son, especially when the daily news made it clear what the average result of such a police encounter was. Mark admittedly knew—his protesting made police encounters more common than they should be—but Victor knew this was different.

He rubs his face, thinking about how to handle this. Mark is stubborn, and Victor knows that memory wipe is not an option at the moment.

VT: _Stay where you are. LA isn’t safe._

MT: _No_  
I’m coming home  
I can help protect you and Annabelle.

VT: _We’re fine. Don’t worry about us._

MT: _If you’re fine then there’s no reason I can’t come home_

Victor sighs. This is a battle he will lose.

VT: _I forbid you to come to LA._

MT: _“Forbid” me??? Ok then_

VT: _I mean it. It’s not safe for you here._

MT: _If it’s not safe for me it’s not safe for you!!  
Come to Vancouver_

VT: _I can’t._

MT: _Why???_

VT: _We’ve talked about this._

MT: _No, you’ve just said it’s impossible_  
and “forbade” me from asking questions  
I want to see you  
And Annabelle

Victor looks over at Annabelle, who is sitting nearby, scrolling through her own phone at the news of the incident. He thinks for a long moment, knowing there was only one surefire way to get him to stay away. He starts to type.

_If you come back to LA, I will make sure you never see her again._

His thumb hovers over the button to send. He means it. He knows he can do it. He has the resources, the manpower, the money. 

And he backspaces until the message bar is blank. He’s removed so many memories from his son. Prevented him from having a real family, a real father, a real childhood. Broken so many promises. This should be easy, but this time he can’t bring himself to burn that bridge.

VT: _Mark, I need you to stay away. Someday you’ll understand._

It’s a lie; he won’t ever let Mark know the truth if he can help it. The response catches him off-guard and immediately raises suspicion.

MT: _Fine_  
But stay safe  
I mean it

He sends some texts to personnel, telling those keeping an eye on his son to keep him updated on his movements.

It’s two days later when his suspicions are confirmed.

_He’s just hired a cab to the airport. He’s coming to Los Angeles._

For the first time in a long time, Victor is truly afraid. He has no idea if he can keep his son safe. And this time, if something happens, it won’t be Annabelle’s fault. It’ll be his own.

**Author's Note:**

> Not as happy with this one as my others, so comments and criticism are greatly appreciated. I'm having trouble coming up with prompts, so if there's something you'd like to see, send it my way! Thanks for reading!


End file.
